Dismasted E29

adam

adam

Member III
This E29 showed up in Jack London Square in Oakland sometime in the last week. :-(

It's mast had broken in half. I did a quick inspection and one of the shrouds had rusted through where it enters the norseman fitting. When that snapped everything else came down.

Reminder everyone -- inspect your rigging, especially at the fittings.

CAM00229 copy.jpgCAM00231 copy.jpg

P.S. Sorry for the terrible picture of the fitting where the shroud snapped, but it was the best I could do with my camera phone in the bright sun.
 
G

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
Good point about inspecting rig fittings. The winds have been quite brisk in the bay and delta the last few weeks. The Delta Ditch is this weekend with a low pressure moving in. Should be an exciting event even for spectators (like myself). My E27 lacks a kite. Anyone participating?
 
Guy Stevens

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Better photo, not sharpened

This is a very common failure with Norseperson fittings (norseman is sexist :) ).

However this fitting in addition to seemingly not having been inspected, seems to have been incorrectly installed on the wire. Form the photo (as bad as it is), I can't make out any sealant which should have oozed out of the fitting when it was assembled.

My suspicion is that the wire corroded inside the fitting, then broke off one or more strands loading the others sufficiently for them to the break or possibly pull out. (Can't see form the photo if there are pulled out strands.). This is fairly common with incorrectly assembled and never inspected terminal fittings. However if it did pull out first and then break, the owner may have even inspected it right before he went for a sail and not seen anything wrong with it. The damage may have been hidden.

If you have mechanical terminals on your boat, you should disassemble at least one ever year or every other year depending on age, and see what is going on inside it.

If you have mechanical fittings and don't see a little sealant good right where the wire exits the terminal they were put together wrong, and you need to take all of them apart, and put some low adhesive bedding compound in there.

Guy
:)
 
adam

adam

Member III
This picture is slightly better, but it's still impossible to get a good photo of a dark object on a while background with a cellphone camera.

Looking at it, I saw no evidence at all of any sealant that was put on it.

CAM00232 copy.jpg

This is a photo of my boat.

What are these types of fittings called (I should know but don't)? And is there any maintenance which should be done to them -- sealant? lanocote?

CAM00239 copy.jpg

Thanks!
 
frick

frick

Member III
pressed swagg fitting into a tubular turn buckle

Its classic swagg fitting into a tubular turn buckle.
Wash with clean water... last time i lubed with. WD40.
Rick
 
footrope

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Guy Stevens said:
This is a very common failure with Norseperson fittings (norseman is sexist :) ).

However this fitting in addition to seemingly not having been inspected, seems to have been incorrectly installed on the wire. Form the photo (as bad as it is), I can't make out any sealant which should have oozed out of the fitting when it was assembled.

My suspicion is that the wire corroded inside the fitting, then broke off one or more strands loading the others sufficiently for them to the break or possibly pull out. (Can't see form the photo if there are pulled out strands.). This is fairly common with incorrectly assembled and never inspected terminal fittings. However if it did pull out first and then break, the owner may have even inspected it right before he went for a sail and not seen anything wrong with it. The damage may have been hidden.

If you have mechanical terminals on your boat, you should disassemble at least one ever year or every other year depending on age, and see what is going on inside it.

If you have mechanical fittings and don't see a little sealant good right where the wire exits the terminal they were put together wrong, and you need to take all of them apart, and put some low adhesive bedding compound in there.

Guy
:)
Click to expand...

Guy,
Does this sealer advice apply to Hayn or other non-swaged fittings that are facing downwards? I have a Hayn at the top of the headstay and I don't recall the rigger putting any sealer on it or recommending it. He did mark it so we could tell if the wire slipped down. The mast is still on the ground so any adjustments will be easy, even though he put thread lock on it. Thanks.

Craig
 
toddster

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Hmm... I'm thinking of the bow-fitting that came with my Furlex. The strands of the wire-end splayed out around a cone which screwed into the fitting. It came with a tiny tube of adhesive that I couldn't believe was doing a darned thing to help. No sealant. I half expected it to pull right out when I tensioned it up... But it's been two years now and I've stopped wincing.

Anyhow, headed down to the marina for an inspection in an hour or so.
 
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M

Maine Sail

Member III
adam said:
This E29 showed up in Jack London Square in Oakland sometime in the last week. :-(

It's mast had broken in half. I did a quick inspection and one of the shrouds had rusted through where it enters the norseman fitting. When that snapped everything else came down.

Reminder everyone -- inspect your rigging, especially at the fittings.

View attachment 14365View attachment 14366

P.S. Sorry for the terrible picture of the fitting where the shroud snapped, but it was the best I could do with my camera phone in the bright sun.
Click to expand...

That is not a Norseman nor is it a mechanical fitting. It is a machined fork swage terminal mostly used for architectural and decorative needs. They do make marine rigging suitable machined forks but most of them are decorative grade so one needs to use caution when buying and whom you buy from..

From the looks of it someone did a bang up home made looking square swage with perhaps a vise..???? A proper swage is done with a hydraulic or old school geared rotary machine like a Kearny. The swage should be round, not square. Seems like an improper swage or a fitting simply not designed for the task..??

SWR03503.jpg
 
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jacksonkev

jacksonkev

Member III
Oh my....

that's my old boat the Valhalla! I've been inactive on here because I sold that boat last spring (after) the dismast.

I'm obviously pissed about the diagnosis here. I bought the boat in 2000 long after it was rigged with the the roller furler. I didn't have it surveyed back then (lesson learned) but I had the rig inspected a few times through a very reputable local rigger.

If you want to know the epic tale (well actually not that epic)...it was blowing about 8 knots in the slot on a hot November day. We were all in shorts and tees drinking lukewarm beer and all in a half second the windward shroud popped and the mast bent in two. I said in slow motion oooooohhhhhhhh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge...duck. I tried to head upwind but it was too late and then the mast ripped off the deck and came crashing down on (luckily around the crew) the cockpit. The scariest 4 seconds in all my years of sailing.

We lashed the rig, sail and all of mess to the deck and headed in. We decided to sell her a few months later.

Pictured here...

IMG_2829.jpg

I didn't realize she ended up in Oakland. Then again, nothing that the buyer said really added up except..."I'll take it."

I'm purchasing an Ericson 30+ this week. Onward and upward!
 
Guy Stevens

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Sealant in the mechanical terminals.

footrope said:
Guy,
Does this sealer advice apply to Hayn or other non-swaged fittings that are facing downwards? I have a Hayn at the top of the headstay and I don't recall the rigger putting any sealer on it or recommending it. He did mark it so we could tell if the wire slipped down. The mast is still on the ground so any adjustments will be easy, even though he put thread lock on it. Thanks.

Craig
Click to expand...

Yep, they should all have sealant in them.... The collect water even when upside down...... Best to keep it out to begin with....

The good news, those Hayn are really easy to disassemble and reassemble for inspection and or sealing!

Guy
:)
 
footrope

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Guy Stevens said:
Yep, they should all have sealant in them.... The collect water even when upside down...... Best to keep it out to begin with....

The good news, those Hayn are really easy to disassemble and reassemble for inspection and or sealing!

Guy
:)
Click to expand...

Thanks, Guy. I'll take care of it.

Craig
 
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